book review

book review

Sharon Sala’s Family Sins chronicles the story of Leigh Youngblood, who disobeyed her money-centric depraved family’s wishes to marry below her ultra rich status. Her father vowed to make her husband pay for her disobedience, but Leigh and Stanton Youngblood managed to build a loving life and family with five boys while under that dark threat for thirty years, until Stanton is killed by a member of Lee’s family.

Sala’s story showcases two families who live literally and figuratively in different worlds. The characters are static in that the Youngblood’s represent all that is pure, honest and loving while the Wayne’s represent all that is corrupt, selfish and greedy. Throughout the story, Sala expertly tackles the emotional turmoil that families go through when dealing with the death of a loved one, both unexpected and expected. All of this happens with a backdrop of a whodunit style mystery to determine who within the Wayne family murdered Leigh’s husband. The suspense and mystery elements are easy to follow and result in a predictable outcome.

Along the way, Sala also rewards the readers with a sweet second chance love story between the Youngblood’s oldest son and his high school sweetheart as well as a tight knit community that bands together, spurred on by the death of Stanton, to finally fight against a rich ruling family that had oppressed the town for so long. Family Sins is an easy read, sure to delight readers who enjoy an unambiguous story with devoted love and clear justice exacted in the end.

Darkness conveys the story of a woman, Gina, who witnesses a horrific accident, jarring memories of a similar tragedy she experienced in her past. Determined to change the outcome this time, she rescues a stranger – Cal, a handsome man who brings a new more deadly danger into her life.

As Gina and Cal are forced to collaborate and compromise to survive their newfound common enemies, readers are treated to a meandering love story where we witness the growing emotional connection between two unlikely people. Each awakens a desire in the other that had been long forgotten and we are treated to a slow simmer of watching two people fall in love while facing the ultimate danger on their lives.

While the novel is light on suspense, Robards skill at characterization and describing environments and situations in extreme detail make up for the lack of tension in the suspense elements of the plot. The suspenseful elements serve as a catalyst propelling the two characters together, allowing us to witness the budding of a new love and are quickly wrapped up in one microwave chapter at the end.

Those who love an emotionally charged romance well find much to enjoy in this languid romantic suspense.

With Every Breath is an intense emotional joy ride of two headstrong individuals fiercely devoted to giving their lives for the ones they love, but fostering a contentious relationship with each other fueled by their underlying attraction and love for the other. Maya Banks expertly crafts this romantic suspense story showcasing how an Alpha Male and an Alpha Female fall in love in the midst of a past that has resurfaced and threatens to derail their happily ever after.

While the romantic elements of the book are intense, scorching and page turning, the story is light on suspense with it representing just a dark cloud that hangs over the couple until one big battle at the end. But, Banks’ characters will hook you and keep you turning the pages until the end. Get ready to be enthralled by the characters and captive to watching their story unfold.

Insidious is the 20th book in Catherine Coulter’s FBI Thriller Series and tackles the common two case arcs of FBI thrillers prevalent in these types of books today. One set of married agents embarks on a game of “Clue” like whodunit to determine the culprit behind a murder plot against one of the most accomplished business women in America. The other agent works with local police on a search for a serial killer attacking young female Hollywood hopefuls. While the police procedural elements, sleuthing and evidence gathering have an air of authenticity; the overall plot suffers from a lack of suspense — a thriller devoid of thrills. The characters need more development to capture your imagination and make you care about the danger they face. The reveal of the culprits seems rushed at the end and is ultimately unsatisfying. While Coulter’s writing style makes the book an easy read, the lack of a real sense of danger and flat characters make this book just as easy to put down.

I’m perched on the fence, casually swinging one leg on the side of “love it” and the other on the side of “it was ok” about Sandra Brown’s latest book. The plot and action sequences will certainly delight fans that revel in the authentic police procedural crime drama type of suspense, salivating over the clues and trying to figure out all the pieces to the puzzle. Even if that type of suspense doesn’t excite you, Brown incorporates enough surprises, twists, turns and gotcha moments to keep you interested in the story and wanting to know what will happen next.

The part of the story that has me on the fence is the romance element. Brown manages to entangle a Beauty and the Beast fairy tale with elements of Stockholm syndrome in this romantic connection between the beautiful Jordie and the scarred Shaw. The combination is at times tense and erotic and at other times cringe worthy as I was turned off by Jordie’s attraction to a man who had for all intents and purposes taken her through a series of unnecessary mental abusive ordeals.

Despite my reluctance to truly buy in to the blossoming lust … or I guess its supposed to be love … between the two main characters, the storyline overall didn’t disappoint and was an enjoyable read.

The latest book in the Reverend Curtis Black Series, number 13, was quite a treat to read. This was my first foray into reading a book in Lawson Roby’s most popular series and I was not disappointed. Even though it is part of a well established series, Lawson Roby does an excellent job of luring you into the characters lives with just enough of the history that you may have missed in earlier books to help tie the whole story together.

Fiction drama at its best, reading this book was like watching a reality show. The preachers in the story have either deplorable pasts or selfish motives or both. Church and religion is a big business that can be manipulated by those who are not truly called by God and this tale shows how easily the wrong people can use the church for their own gain. A thread of hope is subtly weaved throughout the story as applicable scriptures serve to provide stability to the madness. As the story progresses, it is evident that the misbehavior will hinder the characters from receiving the blessings they truly seek.

Lawson Roby also managed to tackle a serious issue of mental health. She deftly catalogs the embarrassment and denial those who suffer from mental health issues go through. Reading the character’s rationalization for not seeking help for her issues and trying to deal with all of it herself was sobering and enlightening. The storyline highlighted the benefits of seeking treatment early and often and not letting the fear of what others will say or think hinder getting that treatment.

An interesting story and easy read, A Sinful Calling will entertain you from beginning to end.

After hearing amazing things about Iris Johansen and her Eve Duncan series, I realized I needed to see what all the hype was about. Instead of starting with book one of the series, for better or worse, I chose the latest release by Johansen – Night and Day, which is her 21st Eve Duncan novel and the final book in the latest Eve Duncan Trilogy.

I will begin this review by saying I made a grave mistake in starting at the end. This is a well-established genre and I believe a lot of the nuances, subtleties and connections being made throughout the book were lost on me because I didn’t know Eve, her friends or her story.

Despite lacking knowledge of Eve’s past, Night and Day is an easy read. The action packed sequencing of the story quickly whisks you right into the challenges that Eve and her friends are facing as they try to save a young girl, Cara, from her evil, sociopath mafia Russian mother. The action scenes are exhilarating and play through your mind as if you were watching a movie. This is all a testament to Johansen’s writing style and mastery of pacing of plot and story.

Where the book fell flat for me was that the sense of true danger for the characters was not really there. There was too much foreshadowing of how the good guys would get out of the dangerous situation that ultimately played out just as they anticipated. The characters were also a bit static. Everyone in Eve’s circle was completely devoted to her to the point of almost worship. The villains were completely bad to the core with no redeeming qualities. This combination makes for a fairly predictable outcome, so it was hard for me to get caught up in thinking Eve and her gang might not get out of the tough situations. It was too telegraphed that they would.

The paranormal elements, which were admittedly unexpected by me, felt a bit out of place with the realism of the rest of the story. The use of the powers by certain characters to conveniently get the team out of difficult situations seemed like cheating by the author. In the end, though I did gravitate toward Seth Caleb with his cryptic power over blood and Cara’s grandfather, the Russian mafia leader. These two characters weren’t so static or black and white. Both were good, with a bad side or bad, with a good side … either way, it made both characters the more appealing of the bunch.

While Night and Day was interesting to read, I think die hard fans of Eve Duncan will enjoy the book a lot more than I did, having just met Eve.

A delightful escape from today’s social norms and dynamics of love, the Sisters of Versailles provides a glimpse back to the time of royals of the 18th century where status reigns supreme and there is a protocol for acceptable romantic scandals and adultery. While focused on the past, the story in many ways is a reflection of what is common, yet hidden, in our society today.

The story captures a period in the King of France’s life where he is bewitched and beguiled by five sisters – each with distinct personalities and driven by differing desires and motivations. Each sister is faced with the option to pursue the ultimate position in French society as mistress of the king and it is interesting to see how their individual pursuits or lack thereof impacts the king’s life, his rule over France and the sibling relationship they have with each other. Sally Christie’s writing is rich and fulsome, capturing the different motivations of each sister adeptly – ambition, money, religion, loyalty and love.

The story is told from two angles – letters written by the sisters to each other as well as from each sister’s point of view. Christie balances between each with precision and the variety makes for an engaging story. The plot unfolds at a compelling pace, gradually revealing more of the sisters’ lives. The contrast between the sisters’ lives as represented in their letters and the actual life led by each adds to the breadth of the story. Subtly introduced, karma also plays a big role in the sister’s lives. This enchanting tale has all the elements to be an enjoyable read for a variety of tastes.

This is the third book in E.K. Blair’s The Fading Series and I read it without having read the first two books. I found the book did well as a stand-alone novel and did not feel deprived by not reading the first two in the series.

This book is one that tugs on the emotional heartstrings as you become submerged in the emotional journey of healing that Ryan and Candace embark on together. Told in the first person from Ryan’s perspective, Blair is masterful at taking a deplorable character and redeeming him before our very eyes. The love story develops slowly and patiently, rewarding us with a sweet connection as we witness the rollercoaster ride of Ryan and Candace struggling to push through the tragic circumstances of their pasts to reach a healthy and happy future together.

The beauty of the story is in the characterization, as the plot is very predictable and simple. Some of the scenes become repetitive and monotonous in the latter half of the book and you may find yourself wondering towards the end why the story hasn’t been wrapped up more succinctly. Blair’s switch to first person from Candace’s perspective in a few chapters toward the end of the book was jarring and unwelcomed.

Despite this, the strength of the love story carries you through and leads to an enjoyable reading experience.

The book focuses on Georgia, a woman in her mid-fifties going through a three-quarter-life crisis of sorts, disgruntled with her professional and personal life. The story captures her journey of rediscovering herself and her dreams. However, the journey stalls at the beginning, as throughout the book it seems that those in Georgia’s life have gained more insight and revelation than she does. The overall commentary on the finding your passion in life as well as the importance of love and relationships was diluted by Georgia’s personality and the rushed through laundry list manner in which she recaps the things she has learned from colleagues and past loves.

Georgia is joined in the book by an eclectic cast of best friends and daughters, each very interesting in their own right, but we only get a glimpse into their lives as we are trapped by Georgia’s first person perspective. To the extent that Georgia and her friends and family are familiar or relatable to people you have in your lives, you may thoroughly enjoy this book and her journey. I found myself wishing we could explore more into the lives of Georgia’s daughters and her best friends.

Terry McMillan is an exceptional writer. She brings characters to life in such exquisite detail that you feel like they are real people that you are interacting with in your daily life. Her ability to construct these characters seem effortless and when reading her books, you tend to fall right in sync with the story fairly quickly.

Ultimately, the fact that McMillan is such a superb writer allowed me to make it through the book despite my personal lack of connection with the main character or the storyline.